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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI can't put my car in reverse! For some reason it doesn't "lock" in the gear...
Park and Drive are fine...
I'm at a loss to know what the story is...and I doubt my Triple A service will be usable since the car is at my house...and I think it only covers emergencies on the road...wonderful...
I feel I should be calling "Car Talk"...
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)Service on vehicles without keys (except when keys are lost or broken).
Service on unattended vehicles. Exception in case of accident.
Service on improperly registered or non-registered, unlicensed vehicles.
Service on non-maintained roads.
Service involving alcohol- or- drug-related incidents, or vehicles ordered impounded or removed by local authorities.
Service on loaded vehicles, which may not be safely performed.
Service when the vehicle is in any location where the service technician cannot perform the service safely and without risk to the member, the service technician, the members' vehicle or the service truck.
Service to boat and horse trailers.
Service on altered or partial vehicles.
The Club reserves the right to change service policies and procedures without notice.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)we've had them by to jump a car and it's never been an issue. If you have a transmission problem the best they'll probably be able to do is tow it though.
It never hurts to have them look at it, you pay for the service every year and if it's something simple they may be able to fix it on site.
I'm not sure where you are but around Middletown they usually send Personal Auto Care and those guys are really good. I've never been ripped off by them.
http://www.personalautocare.net/
Good Luck.
elleng
(131,107 posts)WHEREVER you are! I have used their services several times 'at home,' and at friends' homes.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)elleng
(131,107 posts)If they don't, I'll come up and treat you to dinner! (I won't, however, repair your transmission!)
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Don't worry, tho. I think we'll be able to get it to the mechanic as long as we don't have to go in reverse gear. My husband got it to work enough to get it in front of the house and will follow me over in his car and if the whole gear system hasn't gone kerflooey we can make it (short trip).
It's been a helluva day. Plumbing issue on top of stupid stuff on my health (not serious, thankfully). Just annoying enough to drive me crazy...
csziggy
(34,137 posts)For everything from a dead battery, flat tires (more than once), to a dead car.
What''s fun is that in Florida for every call during warm weather, they bring a cold bottle of water. I guess the theory is that when it's hot and you've had to sit outside waiting, you will need hydration. But when they've come to the house, I have been inside in air conditioning with my jug of water so I'm not thirsty.
I wouldn't try to drive a car with transmission problems on the road - call AAA and let them tow it in. It would be safer!
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)be in Drive the whole way with husband following me in his car. It's all good. I'm just dealing with lots of house/car/health issues all at once right now so I am getting a bit dizzy...it will all be good on Monday morning...
csziggy
(34,137 posts)Been there, when it seems as though everything is breaking down at the same time. It will all work out.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)It's actually kinda funny altho my husband isn't amused one damn bit. But a good friend who was commiserating with my story commented that we're OCD about things working right all the time. She's had real tragedy strike in her life and she says "you can either laugh or cry, so you might as well laugh." I think of her when I am tempted to go into full self pity mode...
csziggy
(34,137 posts)2013 was a bad year for my husband and me. He had foot surgery and had to be on disability for almost 3 months - it was actually 89 days because if he had to be off 90 days it changed over to permanent disability.
Right after he went back to work my father had a catastrophic health event which caused severe brain damage. During the final week my family pretty much disintegrated because of my little sister. The night before the funeral my older sister, niece, Mom and I sat up putting together a short biography of Dad and laughing about good memories of him. At the service the minister used stories we had told him and everyone laughed at some of them.
Two days after the funeral my husband drove to Atlanta for DragonCon and was T-boned before he got to his hotel. Totaled both cars but no one was hurt other than being banged up. I was still with my Mom helping her out and making sure she was going to be OK.
Once I got things sorted out with Mom and my older sister, I went home and had to deal with the auto insurance (Hartford purchased through AARP was awesome through the whole thing). When talking with the guy who does the settlements I cracked him up. We were covering what the value was and I told him we'd just put a new fuel pump into my husband's car and that the engine was good - for the benefit of whatever salvage company got it.
And then I laughed and said, "And the sunroof still works!" My husband's SUV had toppled over after being hit so both doors were seriously damaged. The engine was still going so he opened the sunroof and climbed out that way. Every time I think of that accident, I just can't help laughing about it. The claims adjuster was astounded that I could be amused. I guess he deals with a lot of upset and angry people. But he duly noted that the sunroof was salvageable.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,836 posts)They'll go anywhere; you don't have to be marooned someplace on the side of a road.
noamnety
(20,234 posts)I had to replace the transmission.
For me, drive wouldn't work - but I was able to get to a major city by driving my car in reverse on the highway - the car was going forward, but we had the stick thing in the "R" position. Of course that couldn't happen a few miles from home - had to be when I was driving through Canada. Fun times.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)It's a merry go round of problems as I see it: car, health, cable, computer, plumbing and/or another house issue. Maybe it's just I'm getting old and cranky...
Skittles
(153,193 posts)I'LL GET YOU IN GEAR; yes INDEED
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)I became very skilled at finding a pull-through parking space or parking on a grade that allowed me to roll backwards. Failing that I could get the car moving with a little Flintstones-style leg action.
Ramses
(721 posts)Would rev that baby up..and then chug chug chug chug.. until about 40mph
Any long hills were always out of the answer. This was before GPS.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)snacker
(3,619 posts)I became quite a creative driver.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)Ramses
(721 posts)Newer cars this could be like having to hire a computer programmer to fix it. Older cars not so much.
I usually try jiggling the key a bit in the ignition of older cars and trying to shift at the point of ignition.
Also have used a mallet( for real) on an 1987 pontiac.
All depends on the car.
Also check the tranny fluid.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Last year it was a $1500 bill for some kind of car repair and then 4 new tires (had a blowout on the highway going to my dr.'s house and it turned out ALL my tires were vintage 2008).
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)You didn't give any info on your vehicle, so...
Description & Operation
The reverse lockout system is a safety device that prevents an inadvertent shift from a forward or neutral gear into reverse. The system consists of the following components.
The reverse lockout solenoid.
The dash integration module (DIM).
When the ignition switch is turned ON, battery voltage is supplied to the feed circuit of the reverse lockout solenoid. The DIM supplies the ground for the control side circuit. When the DIM determines that the ignition is ON and the vehicle has been traveling at over 5 mph for 15 seconds or longer, it grounds the control circuit of the reverse lockout solenoid. This energizes the reverse lockout solenoid and mechanically prevents the shift lever from being moved into the REVERSE position.
http://www.autozone.com/repairguides/DeVille-Eldorado-Seville-1999-2005/Automatic-Transmission/Reverse-Lockout-Solenoid/_/P-0996b43f80cb427d
Good luck!
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)I'll mention it to the mechanic who told me the system couldn't be replaced because the parts for it are not made any more (my car is old). Perhaps if he permanently disables it, this problem might be solved. Worth a shot...
Thanks for mentioning this!
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)whew, it's off the street, thank god. and not in the driveway which would block my husband car from backing out of the garage. Also, the snow plow can eventually plow out the driveway so we can get one car out, at least.
I was sweating that one a bit...but logistically it is working.
My husband went off to the supermarket and liquor store for his beer. He reported insanities in both places. At the supermarket they were out of the chips he usually buys (of course!).
hoping for the best with the electricity...but we got a gas stove so we can boil water for coffee...hope for the best, plan for the worst, as the saying goes...
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)Had to rebuild the trans in my Jeep Grand Cherokee - twice - it's no fun. I grew up in Maine, so I'm looking forward to a lot of bitching this week from my friends on FB. Wish we had some of that snow down here in the Four Corners - ground is bare locally, although the mesa is snow covered. Need more water.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)including some annoying health issues. Usually, there is sequencing: house problem, health issue, car problem, cable issue, weather and weather in the winter....but recently everything hit at once. I'm thinking it might be something with the alignment of the planets...
elleng
(131,107 posts)Check this out: http://www.democraticunderground.com/122017295
and take care, all you Connecticut Yanks!!!
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)from accidentally shifting into Reverse while driving. This happens episodically where I can't put it in Reverse after I start the car that is still. He's going to call a transmission shop and ask their opinion. After the storm.
What a comedy this is becoming.
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)It's my understanding that because it is a safety feature, the default is for it to engage if the switch goes bad. I'd definitely have a tranny shop look at it - there's a reason they exist independently of general mechanics.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)CTyankee
(63,912 posts)I'm getting a rebuilt deal. Still $1350. But a new transmission would cost more than the car is worth.
I'm going to start looking for another car. Probably a used Altima. This one has lasted a good long time and I like the Altimas.
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)I think I spent $1500-1800 for my Grand Cherokee, and that was a decade ago. Good luck!
blackcrow
(156 posts)under the sun, including my house. Well, okay, just on this planet.